Makeup

Ahhh the good old days of makeup when E.L.F. Cosmetics was smack talking in your e-mail like gangstas! Remember those days? When they’d casually slip in with a side by side pic of a NARS Blush and a pic of their own blush bragging how their version only cost a buck! Times have changed my friends and E.L.F. is no longer a dollar.

BRB let me check. Ok, cheapest we’re getting is lipliner at $2 bucks and your girl isn’t a lipliner user so that’s a bust. But yeah, E.L.F. has surpassed cheap as chips one dollar makeup a long, long, time ago in a galaxy far, far away from this one.

And like most things in this economy E.L.F. is about to increase prices again! Starting August 1st select products will be increasing by $1 due to inflation and tariffs. Despite the increase, the E.L.F. emphasizes that 75% of its products will remain at $10 or under. And their promise is they are “also keeping an eye on the tariff situation.” In my experience, once something goes up it rarely comes down. So, I have doubts that even if things improve at some point we’ll still see the price points remain the same.

The good news is that most of their latest launches are incredibly over-priced. They seem to come to a standstill at the $5 buck mark. So, if you’re in the mood for budget beauty E.L.F. Cosmetics remains affordable. But that being said, things can be murky with foundation, skincare, and other popular lines they carry like their “Halo Glow” Collection which has gone viral several times. The new Halo Glow Skin Tint SPF 50 is a whooping $18 bucks and some may question if they want to spend that much on an E.L.F. product which is known for being budget friendly.

I could be way off the mark but I feel like some of their more influencer pushed items, like Halo Glow products, seem to have a crazy markup compared to their less talked about products which seem to hover around $5. These is particularly the case with many of their lip product drops. I gotta admit $24 for their Jumbo Power Grip Primer seemed crazy to me taking into account the prices we know and loved from E.L.F. The Big Gripper is 2.7 oz at $24 and contains $30 worth of product versus their original size at 0.81 oz at $10.

The moral of the story is stock up on your favs before prices go up again this August!

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When we all got cozy during lockdown the biggest trend in beauty was skincare. Everyone was taking really, really good care of their skin. I was the only doing a full beat of makeup while walking around the house in PJs. I dunno, it just made the chaos feel normal at the time. But yeah, everyone became super fixated on face and sheet masks, moisturizers, eye creams, etc…etc..! Self care was buying everything and anything for your skin (and your body!). We all dealt with that time in our own way.

I became super fixated on haircare. I dunno where it came from but within the second week of lockdown I was suddenly Miss Haircare. This from a girl with really long, unruly, wavy hair that she typically slicks back and wears in a bun to keep out of her face. Like, I’m really over here doing the very least with my hair during a normal work week but during the pandemic hell, I was Jesus Christ Superstar doing all sorts of things. Crown braids, elaborate buns, my foyer was the runway for my many new hair looks. What a time to be alive.

Recently, I’ve had a lot more time on my hands so I’ve been playing with different hair care products and trying out different things with my hair. I started following a few hair stylists and artists as well. James in particular belongs on my fixation list because he does some fire looks like Thai actors. Bas and Tonliew’s hair is my roman empire and James is responsible for that goodness. Bas’ hair is jsut always so damn good though! Thank you, sir! We love you for doing all the gorgeous hair now, please come do mine!?

Also, I’m still going to try really hard to convince myself to cut it all off one day and just get the pixie cut I’ve been dreaming about. It’ll never happen but ya know, a girl can dream. Should I cut it? It’s currently down to my butt so I do need to get some of it clipped off. Once I went all Carol Brady with a little flip mullet? I’m kidding. Let’s not get too crazy.

And by the way, I was today year’s old when I realized that Lisa Price is back with Carol’s Daughter. Who knew this? Because I didn’t. P.S. Why are the formulas still not as good as they once were? Le sigh! But actually, it’s still part of my list. It isn’t as good as it was but I’m still very much a Carol’s Daughter Black Vanilla! It makes the list today because it still smells pretty good (wish I could say the same for Hair Milk!). It’s been a while but I started using this again recently and I forgot how much I loved the Black Vanilla Leave-In Conditioner Spray! It makes my hair so super soft!

Here’s some other stuff I’m putting in my hair!

And the hair care I’m obsessed with currently is….! Adwoa beauty! Love, love, love everything I’ve tried from this brand! But my two favs are the Melonberry Vitamin C Frizz-Fighting Hair Gel which is a god sent in humid weather. It’s a soft, watery gel that absorbs into hair so easily. It doesn’t leave hair stiff or crunchy yet it manages to hold it in place and tames frizz while keeping hair soft! What magic is this!? A must have if you’re a gel user. Melonberry Hair Milk Leave-In Conditioner is one of my favs from Adwoa. This is a great leave-in. Detangles, softens, and keeps hair frizz-free. My hair soaks this up! If you have drier hair this is a star to treat it.

Listen, I don’t want to be the girl that cheats and sure, I love my Briogeo Be Gentle, Be Kind Avocado + Kiwi Mega Moisture Superfoods Hair Mask but, sometimes you gotta love on something new! Who’s my other lover? Gisou Honey Gloss Ceramide Therapy Hydrating Hair Mask! Take my $42! Just take it (or snag a mini for $22)! This is some sort of wizardry! I dunno what is happening when I use this but my hair goes from Hermione Year 1 to Hermione I’m going to the Yule Ball with Viktor Krum. It makes my hair incredibly shiny but also, really super smooth and sleek looking like a wet seal. Good stuff!

You know me I’m a lazy girl when it comes to hair sometimes! Slicking it back is my soup de jour hair style. I love Briogeo’s new Style + Treat Yuzu + Plum Oil Hair Styling Sleek Stick! Awesome one for just sliding through hair to make it easy to slick back your hair and go. It isn’t sticky or waxy and it leaves hair soft yet still manages to hold it in place. Best part, it doesn’t build up and washes clean away at the end the day!

This isn’t really new but it’s become suck a stable in my hair routine that it’s worth loving on again! I’m talking about dae’s Cactus Fruit 3-in-1 Styling Cream! First off it makes your hair smell so good! Sort of sweet and fresh! Very pretty. But also, smoothes hair and hydrates like a boss! This is way better than using a gel which can leave behind a good deal of residue.

What’s your currently hair care fixation? Tell me about it.

Hello, people of the Internet. Wake up! It’s Tuesday! It’s raining again in New York! And my makeup life is boring lately. For a month and a half I’ve gone out of the house without a stitch of foundation on! Say word! It’s true! I’ve been hanging out in the wild without makeup on and it’s been a crazy ride.

Where have I been? What have I been doing? Why haven’t I been posting? I needed a break to be honest. For the past several years, even while on vacation, I always had new content live on Musings of a Muse but the last few weeks I just haven’t been inspired enough to post. I needed to recharge my batteries. I travelled a lot in April and the last few weeks I’ve had a lot more free time to enjoy stuff that has been put on the back burner. I’ve rediscovered some of my fandoms, embraced new hobbies, and even had some interesting adventures meeting friends from the Internet.

Musings of a Muse has always been a safe space for me and I hope it’s one for you as well. The world is in a state of unrest and the one thing that’s always felt safe and free of chaos was the world of beauty. Sure, we have our drama here and there but for the most part it always feels like coming home when a new blush comes out or someone emails or dms me to tell me, “Have you tried this product? It’s amazing!” I still find the joy in beauty and that’s why this blog is still around after 2007.

I’ll be updating new posts shortly. I hope you’re all doing well. Many of you I talk to on IG or Reddit and some of you via email but if we haven’t talked in a while know that I miss you. I hope you’re out there being the amazing humans I know you are.

Let’s chat some beauty soon 🙂

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I guess I sort of blame Tarte for the mascot trend. About a year or two ago Tarte started featuring a mascot of Shape Tape on their various channels. The mascot would do day in the life type posts or just be hanging out at Tarte HQ creating some sort of chaos. It was actually pretty funny to watch the reels and Tiktok’s Tarte created with someone dressed up like a big old barrel of Shape Tape. Fast forward and everyone has some sort of mascot running around their social media platforms lately. Bath & Body Works has now joined the ranks of mascot merry making with a giant duck that’s featured in some of their content. Ya know, the legendary rubber duckie from their shopping bags and marketing.

Back in 2022 that duck quietly disappeared from Bath and Body Works and trust me, fans noticed and it started an entire movement on social media to bring him back. I’m just sitting here wishing someone would create a group to bring back the Stila Girls. I’m manifesting that for us Stila fans. But yeah, that duck is popular.

And guess what? I was today year’s old when I realized he has a name.

Who even knew this? Serious question, did you know the Bath and Body Works Duck has a name? WHAT!? Yup, his name is Billie. I’ve just been calling him the Bath & Body Works Duck for years now but apparently he’s been named for years now. And lately, Bath & Body Works is pushing Billie in a major way. He has his own pocketbac holder, a cosmetic bag, and more. And Gen Z is an extra big fan of his and keeps pushing for Billie to have his own fragrance. Hmmm coming soon to a Bath & Body Works store near you Billie the Rubber Duck scent. How would it smell? Like Ernie’s bathwater? Forget I said that! Let’s not make it weird…!

But yup, Billie is a thing now. And I’m obviously living under a rock as I didn’t know his name until just recently. Did you?

Who the hell created Summerween? STRAIGHT TO JAIL! And why is Bath and Body Works trying to serve up a Christmas in July Collection? Listen, first off, I can’t even get Summer in New York. It’s rain all day, everyday. At this point I’m going tot tell people I live in London. While I’m busy worrying about when Summer is coming Bath and Body Works is plotting an entire Christmas in July Collection.

That’s right! They’re dropping the Signature Holiday Collection Scents in Christmasy Summer packaging this coming July. We’re getting Winter Candy Apple, Merry Cookie, Winterberry Wonder, and Frosted Coconut Snowball as an early Summer launch. Each scent will be available with limited-edition Summer prints. I’m gonna call it and say this reeks poor sales. Just like many beauty brands at the moment I’m pretty sure Bath and Body Works has a slump in sales. A lot of repetitive releases, price raises, and more contribute to the lack of sales.

During desperate times we need to take desperate measures so of course, Bath and Body Works decided that a Christmas launch in July was needed. Why is this a bad thing? Because it’s rushing the Holidays even more than ever before. We all hate being force fed Holiday Makeup releases as soon as September right? At least I do! It’s just a little too early for me. I come from a time when the first Holiday release would drop end of October and even the first week of November. The last ten plus years we see Holiday Collection as soon as late August and into September. Sadly, Fall Collections are a thing of the past as Holiday Sets and releases completely overtook any and all Fall Collections.

This ruins the Holidays for me on so many levels. I’m just not ready for Christmas Collections this soon. And Summerween? Another equally bad Holiday in my opinion. I love Halloween as you know but the fact that we now have people celebrating Summerween with places like Home Goods creating Halloween/Summer releases is absurd to me.

Everyone needs to go straight to jail for this. The marketing teams are working too hard lately. What are your thoughts on Halloween and Christmas releases this early?

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I went to meet some of my fellow Reddit Whovians this weekend and I happen to be a chatty kind of girl but I strongly suspect they choose the location of our meet at an extra noisy place (so, they didn’t have to talk!). Everyone was a tad bit awkward and I felt like I was the only one trying to chat it up. It was odd because online everyone won’t shut up but in real life everyone was sort of quiet. I mean, they choose a great place to have this meet because the music was extra loud and it was impossible to really have a deep conversation about Time Lords. Lucky them! Not so lucky me as I walked out with a bit of a headache and feeling like I didn’t know the people that I met outside of our online lives (this actually made me really nervous as I’m meeting a very special online friend for the first time very soon and I hope it doesn’t go as badly as this did). P.S. You know you’re getting old when loud music gives you a migraine. I seriously, felt overwhelmed by how loud everything was.

How many people remember going to the MAC store or counter and it was like a party that just got into gear at 1AM on Saturday morning? I remember it well and I was so there for it. If you walked into any department store and had no idea where MAC was located you only had to follow the music to locate them. They’d be surrounded by quiet elegant counters like Laura Mercier and Dior and MAC would be there like that one person playing their music in the car extra loud and singing along to it at the red light. When you’re younger you appreciate the experience but loud, pounding music when you get older just isn’t it anymore. I literally just avoid anywhere with loud, pulsating music lately as I want to enjoy my meal with friends or my boyfriend peacefully. Or I want to choose my lipstick shade without the entire display rattling do to the base of the song playing.

For those who simply can’t take that kind of sensory overload we now have Sephora Quiet Hours. From now through July 26th in select Sephora stores we’ll have pilot program that provides a quiet shopping experience. If it works out I imagine Sephora will continue the project.

The idea is to create an environment for people who enjoy a calmer shopping experience and one with a lot less of a sensory-stimulating environment. In another words, old aunties like me can shop without leaving the store with a headache. For this experience, they’ll be dimming the lights, lowering or even turning off the music, and even minimizing the digital screens in stores. These new Sephora Quite Hours will happen Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10AM to 12PM. Sephora Quiet Hours are happening at the following stores: Westfield White City, Birmingham, and Trafford.

Unfortunately, the hours they are doing this aren’t really ideal for most shoppers. It would be great if they did it on a Sunday afternoon as it would make for a nice, chill day of shopping.

What do you think of this idea? Does the idea of Sephora Quiet Hours sound appealing to you or does the loud music not really bother you?

Listen, if we can watch Barry Keoghan sipping Jacob Elordi bathwater (and other un-mentiomable bodily fluids) we can totally buy Sydney Sweeney’s new Bathwater Bliss Soap. I don’t see the problem here. No but seriously, I am kind of sort of grossed out by that. Like, why? But dude, there’s a fetish for everything and I’m not going to yuck anyone’s yum. So, if washing yourself with a bar of soap infused with Sydney’s potential DNA (hey, her bathwater might have some flaky skin in there ya never know!) is your thing I’m not judging.

Apparently to create Bathwater Bliss Soap, Sydney took a dip in a bubble bath and Dr. Squatch packaged some the same suds from the ad the shot into a brand new product called Bathwater Bliss which is available for a limited time. It’s formulated with exfoliating sad, pink bark extract, Sydney’s bath water, and potentially her sweat, tears, pieces of skin, and other unmentionables (I dramatized the last part for effect).

I am curious how MUCH of her bathwater is in each bar. I assume it’s mere drop but question, is this hygienic? I mean, if I use it could I catch an STD or something? I’m kidding, I’m kidding. But it just seems a wild idea and trust me, over the years, we’ve all heard some really great Beauty Most Unusual stories haven’t we? We’re all old enough to remember when Lady Gaga told her perfume was going to smell like blood and semen and of course, we had Sarah Jessica Parker saying hers smelled like a sweaty man.

We’ve lived through all! Snail mucin, salmon semen, Marmite flavored Vaseline, it’s been a wild few years in beauty. I feel confident we can get through a bar of Sydney Sweeney’s bath water soap! But just saying, if I did have to choose, I would want a bar of soap infused with Max Kornthas bath water, that’s all of saying. Nothing more to see here. I mean, look at him, you’d totally buy a bar of soap with his bath water infused in it right?

Sydney Sweeney soap dropped yesterday but only 100 bars were made. Sorry, but she’s GONE gone. Maybe they’ll do another round or collaborate with someone else soon (Max, hint hint hint)! So, tell me, who’s bathwater do you want in your soap? LOL!

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E.L.F. Cosmetics is turning into the new Estee Lauder and Lancome with purchases of beauty brands left and right. Currently, E.L.F Cosmetics owns Keys Soulcare, Well People and NATURIUM and will be adding one major player to their portfolio this month to the tune of 1 billion dollars.

That’s right, E.L.F. Cosmetics is purchasing Haily Bieber’s skincare brand for 1 billion dollars. E.L.F. made the official announcement yesterday and just days before there was news that Rhode was coming to Sephora shortly. This is E.L.F.’s biggest investment to date. The deal is comprised of $800 million in cash and stock with an addtional $200 million payout based on Rhode’s performance over the next three years. The deal will close in the second quarter or could happen as soon as later this year. E.L.F.’s stocks soared after the announcement and are up 11% today.

Rhode in it’s infancy but in three years time they are doing $212 million in net sales. They may not seem a lot but keep in mind Rhode’s catalog is very, very small. They have around nine to ten products most of which are skincare. I imagine they’ll expand further into color cosmetics once this deal is inked.

“From day one, my vision for rhode has been to make essential skin care and hybrid makeup you can use every day,” said Bieber. “Just three years into this journey, our partnership with e.l.f. Beauty marks an incredible opportunity to elevate and accelerate our ability to reach more of our community with even more innovative products and widen our distribution globally.”

I happen to be a very big fan of Rhode and I’ll readily admit this news makes me nervous. Formulas change, prices change, a lot changes when someone like E.L.F. steps in. I imagine Hailey will stay out with the brand for a while but at some point she’ll step down and the brand will likely head into a completely different direction. Speaking of price changes E.L.F. is set to raise their prices soon so stock up on your favs while you can.

How do we feel about Rhode Beauty being sold to E.L.F. Cosmetics? Share your thoughts!

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I was creeping all over Maxky’s Tiktoks about a week or so ago. Like you know, weird stalking the comments type stuff (don’t even sit and judge because you know the comments are where all the insanity happens). And someone said and I quote, “Too bad he’s too old”. Now wait one damn minute that boy is 30. If he’s old WTF am I? I’m not an auntie anymore, not even grandma, apparently I’ve graduated to great grandmother according to Generation Z and A.

But what’s REALLY sending me is my comments on Pinterest lately. You may or may not know but I keep a little album of beauty bytes over on Pinterest. I’ve posted new beauty a plenty but also, I tend to post really older stuff as well. I think people appreciate seeing some of the older items that launched several years ago like Maybelline Color Tattoos and other old drugstore beauty launches as well as old MAC Color stories from the days MAC was doing so many great launches.

But the comments are so not it….! I literally got all these kids on there asking, “Is this real?” “That’s not real right?” “Is this AI?” Am I THAT OLD that people don’t remember certain beauty launches? One of the most popular posts is the old Sol de Janeiro Lip Balms. DUDE…! DUDE….! Those balms aren’t even that OLD a release. Sol de Janeiro launched those Brazilian Kiss Tinted Cupuaçu Lip Butters launched around 2020 or something. And of course, we all know the ten years old love their Sol de Janeiro so, they are losing their mind that Sol de Janeiro had lip balms. BUT ALSO, they are not believing they were real and AI somehow created an image of them.

And it’s not even Pinterest. I see a lot of this across social media lately. I feel at least twenty years older than I actually am after reading some of the comments. What makes you feel old in the beauty industry? Do share!

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In 2022, E.L.F. raised their prices with fair warning to their customers. It was a nice gesture on their part to take to social media (as well as via e-mail) and say hey, listen, grab your favs now because prices are going up. Well, here we are again. E.L.C. Cosmetics broke the news yesterday that prices are going up again as of August 1st.

Starting August 1st prices will be raised by $1. 75% of the current offerings are still $10 and under however, in a post on Instagram they shared that inflation and tariffs were hitting them hard but they were doing their best to keep quality high and prices as affordable as they can be. They also shared they’ll be keeping an eye on the tariff situation which to me means very little as once prices go up it’s rare they go back down.

E.L.F. joins a number of other brands who have increased prices as of lately due to the new tariff policy. Even Walmart announced that their prices would be adjusted depending the tariff rate increased. E.L.F. also announced news that they’d be purchasing Rhode for 1 Billion this week and I’m unsure if also, announcing price changes after such a big deal was shared is the way to go. But who am I to say?

This is our new normal in the beauty world. Not to mention paying more for less as well as formulas changing and not for the better. E.L.F. still remains a fairly affordable brand but we can only agree it’s not longer the dollar brand we grew up with. Long gone are the days where you could buy blush, eyeshadow, and more for a mere buck from E.L.F. I’m sure we’ll all miss those days.

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